Special and Annual Town Meeting
Monday May 15, 2023
7:00 p.m.
Murdock High School Auditorium, 3 Memorial Drive
Call the Town Clerk's office at 978-297-2766 with questions or accessibility requests.
Click here to review final Warrant with recommendations (PDF)
Last day to register to vote in Town Meeting: Friday, May 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Town Clerk's office, Town Hall, 109 Front Street.
New Check-in Procedure for Annual Town Meeting Voters
To accelerate the check-in process at Town Meeting, check-in will now be accomplished by use of electronic Poll Pads. You may check-in at any Poll Pad line. The use of these tablets will allow our election officers to check in a voter:
1. By manually entering the first few letters of the voter's first and last name
OR
2. By scanning the bar code on the back of the voter's driver's license. In this case, the Poll Pad matches the name and birth date of the person on the voter list with the name and date of birth it reads from the bar code on the back of the license. No information from the scanned license is retained by the Poll Pad. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts does not require that a voter present a license to check in at Town Meeting.
Third Annual Taste of Winchendon Festival Bursts into Bloom on Saturday, May 13
The third annual Taste of Winchendon festival, innovated and organized primarily by the HEAL Youth Changemakers and other Winchendon younger people, will be held on Saturday May 13 from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. on the Beals Memorial Library lawns, 50 Pleasant Street. The program of events will include live music and entertainment, food, free workshops, games and activities for all ages, along with information and vendor booths for local organizations. The event is free of charge and all are welcome.
Taste of Winchendon celebrates Winchendon's diversity, showcasing the many cultural traditions, food, languages and art found right here in Toy Town. From Celtic to Country-Western, Salsa to belly-dancing, French-Canadian to Asian-American, empanadas to BBQ, Taste of Winchendon proves that Winchendon is truly Working Together.
Food will be provided by The Winchendon Works Makers, TWS Asian Affinity Group, Proud Country BBQ, Not Just Produced, The Winchendon School, Lickity Splitz, Piper's Hot Dogs and The Sunshine Café.
Free workshops will include a Latin dance class, Country Line Dancing, Community quilt making and a language exchange and cultural trivia table.
Games and activities will include a bouncy house, face painting, tie-dying, various crafts, raffles and the Winchendon Garden Club's spring plant sale.
The schedule of entertainment--there will be a stage and a portable dance floor!--will be:
12:00 p.m. Cailte Kelley
12:45 p.m. Salsa dancing
1:15 p.m. The BIG RanDom
2:15 p.m. Line Dancing
3:00 p.m. The Kasibahagua Dancers
3:15 p.m. The Murdock Select Choir
3:30 p.m. Raffle drawings!
There's still time to pick up a "passport" at a participating Winchendon business and get it stamped by the businesses taking part. Bring your stamped "passport" with you to the event to earn free raffle entries!
Parking is available in the new municipal parking lot on Pleasant Street just two blocks down from the library.
Taste of Winchendon is brought to you by HEAL, the Winchendon Cultural Council, the Winchendon CAC, Growing Places, the Town of Winchendon, CHNA9, the Beals Memorial Library and many hard-working volunteers.
For more information, call 978-616-7065 or go to https://www.healwinchendon.org/tasteofwinchendon
BOS and Town Manager Discuss Hiring Consultant for "Destination Winchendon" Proposal
The "green building" and former furniture showroom.
Photo by Inanna Arthen
At their meeting on Monday, May 8, the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager Justin Sultzbach discussed plans for a "Destination Winchendon" project which would help improve underutilized and deteriorating properties in town with the aim of making Winchendon more attractive to visitors, businesses and vacationers. The initial proposal is to hire a consulting firm for a Phase I study, which would cost $18,000.
Board Chair Audrey LaBrie opened the discussion by explaining that the previous Tuesday, she and Selectman Rick Ward had attended a meeting with [Dr. James E. Samels] of the Education Alliance Stonegate about a proposal he had put together for the town. "The word 'destination' is referenced in our Master Plan, like 38 times or somesuch," Ms. LaBrie said. "So we wanted to bring this before the Board for discussion, and also to look at the engagement letter that Stonegate Alliance presented to us. And if and how we want to move forward."
Mr. Sultzbach said, "One piece that we've been stressing a lot over the past year is trying to have some type of targeted approach to placemaking in town, just due to the need for growth, looking at the trends, looking at the way that basic town expenses are skyrocketing, and the need to drive more growth revenue to keep up with that. And I think one important piece of this conversation we've been having is identifying specific parcels in town, and partnering with the owners of those privately held parcels in a way that in the long term will benefit the town by trying to secure private investment. And I think for a long time, in town, it seems like we didn't have a very direct targeted strategy to deal with those properties. There's been a few that I've picked off, since I've been in town. But I think investing in this type of initiative is probably a good way to keep the town on track and keep the town locked in on those specific parcels."
Three key locations being looked at right now, Mr. Sultzbach said, are the Whites Mills in Winchendon Springs, Waterville Plaza on Main Street/Rte 202, and number one, "the large green building right off Front Street tucked in the woods down the hill there." Not easily visible from the road, the building is right on the Millers River and once, in its better days, housed a furniture showroom. Waterville Plaza has a high potential for growth due to the traffic counts on Rte 202, Mr. Sultzbach said.
"One of the biggest takeaways I think for this, is that you'd have a firm that would get the community together to facilitate those conversations and help the town control the fate of some of these properties, so that when something does take off, and there is some type of investment made, it's made in an image that's reflective of feedback provided by the citizens, instead of just rolling the dice and having a private developer come in and just hammer in whatever they want on those specific parcels," Mr. Sultzbach emphasized.
The work with Stonegate would be an early level look at the process, Mr. Sultzbach said. "I actually did meet with with Dr. Samels and a member of his team over the weekend to look at some that they'd done, Methuen and and a couple other communities, where they targeted specific underleveraged sites in those communities and ushered them through to the development phase and were able to successfully secure private developers to invest in those communities."
Ms. LaBrie acknowledged that all three of the properties mentioned are privately owned. Mr. Sultzbach has had discussions with the owners of the Whites Mills, which is currently up for sale. The green building, which is officially addressed as 1 High Street, is listed as owned by Dame Shaun in the Assessor's database, and was sold to that owner in 2017 by the Martin A. Parks Family Trust (the Parks family has operated manufacturing businesses in Winchendon for nearly 200 years). Waterville Plaza, addressed as 16 Main Street, is listed as owned by Green Cedar Trust.
Selectman Barbara Anderson said, "I think what I have a hard time is expending town funds on looking into properties that are privately owned. I am not sure I'm comfortable doing that. I can understand why he's looking at them. But while they're privately owned, don't think it's our business to be doing that. And I think you could be stepping into a can of worms."
"There's always a push and pull on that type of dynamic," Mr. Sultzbach said. "What you're trying to combat is the appearance that if there's people that have privately held properties, then the perception of the general public is typically, 'Well good for you, then pony up the money and figure it out and find a way to make it work.' But I think in Winchendon, from an economic development standpoint, things are a little bit more unique than a typical market, because you pretty much need the expertise to go out and specifically target and secure private investment to come into town."
This investment is a kind of public-private partnership, and comparable to a more traditional arrangement, such as TIF where taxes are waived to help a development get off the ground. But this would be less of a commitment for the town.
"What you're getting from going through this process of putting up public dollars to try to incubate something at those sites is job creation, and further growth in future tax revenue down the road," Mr. Sultzbach continued. "So even if you're investing some money up front, it'll pay for itself in dividends, if you get something up and running on even one of those sites, but if the alternative is having them sit privately owned, and doing nothing for another 10 years, if you look at the amount of lost potential revenue from just letting them sit, those are the angles that you need to weigh."
Ms. Anderson said it seemed that the town would be subsidizing private owners in increasing the value of their own properties by helping them bring in private developers.
Mr. Sultzbach described what happened with the Hamilton Canal Innovation District in Lowell as an example. "A lot of the issues that we see in Winchendon is there is no plan, there's literally no plan, we just kind of hope that somebody like, you know, throws a dart at the map, it lands on Winchendon, or they just show up. And that doesn't really work. And so what you want to try to do is sit down and have these types of conversations. It means bringing in the private ownership and letting them know that the town is trying to get a plan together for their specific parcel."
The area around the green building, with the river going right through it, "could be effectively its own little campus," Mr. Sultzbach said. "Given the size and scale of it, so if you can get something in there, that can create potentially hundreds of jobs. And within walking distance of Central Street, in a community where transportation is oftentimes an issue, there's a public benefit to help and get that off the ground." Many people assume that if someone owns a large parcel, they're wealthy enough to do something with it, Mr. Sultzbach said. But in reality, often the properties sit there because the owners don't have the resources or know-how to improve them.
Selectman Rick Ward and Ms. LaBrie spoke about the assets the town has now, and the fact that a plan will create a starting point for improving the town. Mr. Ward said, "Tied in with the Master Plan, it gives us a good plan for the future."
Ms. LaBrie explained that meetings with Dr. Samel have been going on for several months, and the proposal has gone through some trimming. Initially a six-month commitment was requested, but the proposal is now restructured to be one step at a time, and the town can decide at each step whether to proceed further. Some towns that initiated this process never went further than Phase I. The town can form a Destination Committee to focus on the process.
Mr. Sultzbach said that the town could tap into budgeted monies for community development, or ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds, and could come to Town Meeting to ask the will of the voters about continuing to invest in the process. "I think the most important takeaway ultimately is that it's what we're talking about, as you know--how to market this community and the resources it has, and I think this would do that," he said.
Mr. Sultzbach said the three properties mentioned weren't necessarily the ones that would be focused on first--they were only the most obvious examples of properties in town that could be addressed. "Those are just like the low hanging fruit. If we're just sitting down to the small group and say, what are three really underutilized, underleveraged areas in town, I think those are probably the top three," he said.
"What you're paying [Stonegate] for is to go through the process of having that public process of running a committee, putting together a report so that when you do identify those parcels, it could be five, six or seven different areas in town," Mr. Sultzbach continued. "They're effectively putting together perspectives on each of those individual parcels. And laying down the acreage, the zoning and breaking it down into a digestible piece so that when they're going around and shopping it around for investors, you're really able to spoon feed private investment these different opportunities in town rather than hoping that somebody is going to go digging for it, because it's one of the hardest parts of this town. It has so much going for it. And I think a lot of people see all of those pieces, you have a state park, you have so many different bodies of water, you have the new amphitheater, you rebuilt all your infrastructure downtown over the past few years. But it's a matter of finding a firm that can put it together and package it and market it in such a way that you're getting the right person to come in and develop that property that's going to work with the town."
Marketing to investors would be part of the whole process Stonegate does, if the town decides to go forward after Phase I.
Department of Public Works Director Brian Croteau rose to clarify, "This state has hundreds of millions of dollars are allocated for projects like this. It's through the One Stop program, which is multiple grants. And they set aside hundreds of millions dollars for private industry, just like this. So you can take buildings, like the one that's located out here, you can bring power, you can bring water, you can bring sewer, but they also now fund the rehab of the insides too, so that it stimulates the economy." Mr. Sultzbach added that knowing those funding sources is part of the consultant's job.
Town resident Jane LaPointe rose to comment that HEAL Winchendon and Community Heart & Soul have been gathering feedback from hundreds of town residents that supports an initiative like Destination Winchendon. "Town infrastructure is a one of the very big themes of that. There are five themes, town infrastructure was one of those, a lot of talk about what could be done to bring businesses into town, to bring employment opportunities into town and all that. So this, what I'm hearing here tonight, is resonating with what I've heard people in this town say they want." Ms. LaPointe also was familiar with One Stop, calling it "an amazing program."
Mr. Ward made a motion "to authorize the Town Manager to enter into an agreement with Stonegate Alliance to conduct a Destination Winchendon study as proposed for the fees described above." The Board voted 4-1 to approve the motion, with Ms. Anderson casting the no vote, "only because the way it was presented is incredibly dangerous," she explained.
Following the vote, the Board briefly discussed putting out a call for committee members and what qualifications would be useful on the committee, such as previous in-depth work with the town Master Plan. Residents who might be interested in serving on a Destination Winchendon committee can contact the Town Manager's office for more information.
Family Dollar to Close for Remodeling, Dollar Tree Joining!
The current Family Dollar Store location seen in the right side of the picture, will be relocated to the left side of the building once new construction is completed, with its parent company, "Dollar Tree" then opening a new store on the right side where Family Dollar currently seen in photo will have once formerly stood.
Photo by Keith Kent
Family Dollar, located at the Central Street shopping plaza of Winchendon, will be temporarily closing its doors for both a two month relocation and remodel this coming Saturday, May 27, according to store employees in what has been a long awaited and necessary makeover of the Toy Town brick and mortar shopping staple.
The soon to be new location site, the once former IGA Central Supermarket which previously unexpectedly closed its doors on Monday, January 16, 2017, has remained both vacant and unmaintained for over six years allowing both extensive and progressive damage to the property. The property along with the entire plaza was sold to Alfa Donuts of Beverly, MA on June 29, 2015 according to Town of Winchendon Assessor Data Base public records. The now former IGA site at 5 Central Street has realized at last 50 percent or more of its structure removed due to decay, making way for the now soon to come future new Family Dollar Store location site.
As described by employees as explained to them, the newer store will be similar in both layout and design along the plans of other more modern stores, including a newer refrigerated section with coolers for both liquid and perishable goods such as foods and frozen goods along with other store wide traditional sales items.
Additionally also announced by Toy Town store employees as posted, the current Family Dollar Store hours of operation have been changed at this time and until the May 27, closing, will be 9:00 am - 7:00 pm, 7 day a week unless otherwise decided by corporate officials. Also leading up to the upcoming closure as the date draws closer and stock items dwindle, prices will be reduced throughout the store to assist with the depletion of any possible remaining inventory, so customers are advised to continue to look for better sales and prices slashed as the closing date nears.
Adding to the business news and consumer opportunities again according to store employees, the parent company of Family Dollar, "Dollar Tree Stores" will once Family Dollar has completed its move in to the newly constructed property at the former IGA site, then become a new additional shopping opportunity for Toy Town residents, and once all building modifications and updates are completed, move in "Next Door" to the now current and then future "former" Family Dollar site. Again at this time, the project as announced is expected to take two months placing it near the end of this upcoming July, notwithstanding any unforeseen project or supplier delays.
If having a question about item availability or any other, Family Dollar of Winchendon can be reached by phone at (978)-730-6029. At this time the combined entity of Dollar Tree Inc, owns some 16,000 stores in 48 States in the United States, along with 5 Canadian Provinces, operates some 25 distribution centers, and employees 200,000 employees. The company can be viewed on the internet at https://corporate.dollartree.com/about
Mass DPH posts Fresh Water Fish Advisory
This photo taken of a notice posted at the Lake Dennison State Park boat launch on its billboard is a small but standard DPH Fresh Water Fish Mercury Warning Alert. However, due to the fact that many sporting enthusiasts fish nearly 360 degrees around the lake, it is nearly impossible to completely post the entire body of water.
Photo by Keith Kent
The Massachusetts DPH (Department of Public Health) among its many Mass.gov websites postings, has added its annual "Fresh Water Fish Advisory" for all Commonwealth fresh water bodies and tributaries at which fish have a "Mercury Warning" alerting the public at large. While attempts are made to include a physical posting at some but not all affected bodies of water as observed around Winchendon, much of the Commonwealth simply just has far to many fresh water fishing sporting locations to keep up with for safety or posting purposes.
The newer annual posting currently lists Toy Town fresh water bodies with Mercury fishing warnings / advisories as Lake Dennison, Lake Monomonac, the Millers River, Otter River, Whitney Pond which is part of the Millers River, and all the entire length and towns along the Millers River. Warnings and or advisories, include and are not limited to Mercury, PFAS, and PCB's.
The DPH lists the following local breakdowns:
1. Location: Winchendon - Lake Dennison. Hazard - Mercury. Meal Advisory: Children under 12, Pregnant women, Nursing mothers, Women of child-bearing age, Do not eat Largemouth Bass. Meal Advice to General Public: Limit other species to 1 meal/month Limit all fish to 2 meals/month.
2. Location: Winchendon - Millers River and its tributaries (between the confluence with the Otter River in Winchendon and the Connecticut River in Erving/Montague) Athol, Erving, Montague, Orange, Phillipston, Royalston, Wendell, Winchendon. Hazard - PCBs. Meal Advisory: Children under 12, Pregnant women, Nursing mothers, Women of child-bearing age, Do not eat any Brown fish. Meal Advice to General Public: Do not eat American Eel, Brown Trout. Limit other species to 2 meals/month.
3. Location: Winchendon - Lake Monomonac, Lake and the North Branch of the Miller River (Between the outlet of Lake Monomonac and the inlet of Whitney Pond. Hazard - Mercury. Meal Advisory: Children under 12, Pregnant women, Nursing mothers, Women of child-bearing age, Do not eat any fish. Meal Advise: General Public: Limit all fish to 2 meals/month.
4. Location: Winchendon - Whitney Pond, Hazard - Mercury. Meal Advisory: Children under 12, Pregnant women, Nursing mothers, Women of child-bearing age, Do not eat any fish. Meal Advise: General Public:Do not eat Chain Pickerel, Limit other species to 2 meals/month.
5. Location: Otter River (between the Seaman Paper Dam in Templeton and the confluence with the Millers River in Winchendon) Templeton, Winchendon. Hazard - PCBs. Meal Advisory: Children under 12, Pregnant women, Nursing mothers, Women of child-bearing age, Do not eat any fish. Meal Advise: General Public, Do not eat Brown Bullhead, White Sucker. Limit other species to 2 meals/month
Additionally for those sporting enthusiasts who enjoy fresh water fishing on a larger scale at both the Quabbin and Wachusett public water supplies, they have also been listed as the following.
6. Location: Quabbin & Wachusett Reservoirs: Locations- New Salem, Shutesbury, Petersham, Hardwick, Ware, Pelham, Hardwick, Belchertown, Boylston, West Boylston, Sterling, Clinton. Hazard - Mercury. Warning- Footnote [3] Children younger than 12 years, pregnant women, and nursing women should not consume fish except for lake trout less than 24 inches long and salmon. All other people should not eat small mouth bass, large mouth bass, or lake trout greater than 24 inches long; may eat unlimited amounts of salmon and lake trout less than 24 inches long; and should limit consumption of all other Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoir fish species to one five-ounce meal per week.
Please remember, most local fresh bodies of water and fresh water fishing areas are not physically posted for either Mercury warnings, PFAS, PCBs, or others. To view these local sites and others around the Commonwealth for continued fresh water fishing consumption safety, please visit the following Mass DPH on-line of https://www.mass.gov/lists/fish-consumption-advisories and for the download table of sites please visit https://www.mass.gov/doc/public-health-freshwater-fish-consumption-advisories-2023-0/download
If you have other questions and want to speak via phone you can always call the Mass Department of Public Health at (617) 624-6000 and listen for the correct extension.
Enjoy the warmer weather!
Loving the outdoor life on the waters of Lake Dennison, people both just simply kayaking and taking nature photos, or fishing while kayaking for the pure enjoyment of the sport, took full advantage of the warmer weather this past weekend of Friday, May 5, through Sunday, May 7. From watching birds diving to seeing fish jump, along with DCR allowing the early opening of the camp ground near the boat launch, there was something for nearly everybody.
Photos by Keith Kent
North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation approves financing to Soto Hydraulic Repair
Funding purchases equipment for new repair start-up
Left to right are Steve Sugar, Vice President of Lending at the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation; Pedro Soto-Cruz, owner of Soto Hydraulic Repair; and his wife Michel Cocuzza.
Photo courtesy of NCMDC
North Central Mass. (May 10, 2023) - The North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC), the economic development arm of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, recently approved a $35,000 loan to Soto Hydraulic Repair LLC, located in Winchendon.
Funding will provide equipment for the growing hydraulic repair start-up which specializes in repairing systems for industries such as agricultural, industrial, transportation and manufacturing.
Owner Pedro Soto-Cruz has more than 20 years of experience repairing hydraulic systems. He is certified in visual weld inspections and Arc welding, and has experience in fabricating parts used in hydraulic systems. Pedro worked with NewVue Communities Small Business Assistance Program to create his business plan.
"After two decades in hydraulic repair, I am excited to create a business of my own," said Soto-Cruz. "With support from the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, I now have the equipment I need to get my company off the ground." Contact Soto Hydraulic at 978.870.9994.
As a microloan lender, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $250,000 for working capital, real estate, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with our banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project.
For more information about the NCMDC loan programs, please call 978.353.7607 or visit NorthCentralMass.com or ChooseNorthCentral.com.
Winchendon Wildlife - Bald Eagles
With Bird watching season strong in session especially for those with a sharp eye and just a little patience, some of Winchendon's several pairs of nested Eagle's have been seen spreading their majestic wings at Lake Monomonac, Whitney Pond, Stoddard Pond, and especially Lake Dennison with increasing seasonal foot traffic as the Memorial Day Holiday draws closer.
Seen in these photos, a mature American Bald Eagle, sits high in a tree top along side the edge of the lake, watching for both fish near the surface of the water, and small prey along the ground which it could be seen diving for several times by onlookers at the state park.
Just landing! Having just landed coming from the opposite side of the lake, this Eagle scans the tree tops for any nearby movement as to know its surrounds.
Photo by Keith Kent
Responding to a nature call - Taking a long hard look, the Eagle focuses in the direction of the camera, after a few traditional Owl calls and other whistles are made in an attempt to take a variety of photos.
Photo by Keith Kent
Taking a break. Finally taking a few minutes to relax in the tree tops, the Eagle seems to make it self comfortable in the lakeside breeze with people walking a trail directly below it completely unaware what remains focused above.
Photo by Keith Kent
This is my turf! After keeping a watchful eye out and not seen in this photo, a large Hawk flying past only a few hundred feet away immediately drew the ire of the eagle, which then shortly there after began to fly around the area as if to say these are my grounds and stay out!
Photo by Keith Kent
Photo copyright © Beals Memorial Library